InFocus IN80 DLP Projector

Score

Sections

Key Features

Review Price: £1299.00

These are busy – and successful – times for InFocus. The brand has recently rocked our world in two very different portions of the projection market, with the astounding X10 entry-level model totally rewriting the rule book of what sort of video projection quality you can expect to find for under £900, and the brand’s IN83 showing for the first time what astonishing AV feats Texas Instruments’ new DarkChip 4 DLP technology is capable of.

All of which raises both hopes and fears for the new IN80. This model slots neatly into the InFocus range one rung above the X10, slightly bettering that budget belter’s spec for a price of £1299. But while we have no doubt, after the X10, that the IN80 will be a great performer too, we can’t help but wonder if it’s sufficiently better to warrant the extra £400. Obviously the best way to find this out is to do a straight comparison of the two projectors.

Aesthetically there’s nothing between them at all; they both feature the trademark vaguely circular InFocus design, with matt black bodywork and a surprisingly large footprint for this point in the market.

For better or for worse they both also ship with a jointed foot mount attachment on which you can rotate or tilt the whole projector chassis, supposedly to help you get an image on your screen more easily. The reality, though, is that this footmount system is actually rather fiddly, especially if you’re trying to tilt it forward or back by a small amount.

Another troublesome set-up point about the IN80 and the X10 alike is their use of a relatively long-throw lens. This suits large living rooms, yet the projectors’ relatively budget prices suggest that some of their potential buyers may have limited living space at their disposal.

The IN80 is far from a dead loss to set up, though. Vertical image shifting is possible via a wheel built down the projector’s side, there’s plenty of keystone correction for getting your image edges straight, and perhaps most significantly of all, there’s a manual iris adjustment to help you get just the right balance between brightness and contrast.